Computer security software, such as policy enforcement and configuration management solutions, typically requires deployment of an agent within the operating system of the computer being protected. However, the act of agent deployment itself assumes the existence of a level of control and management over the computers to be protected which often does not exist. It is the very computers for which such control is not available that are most in need of protection.
Active management technology (AMT), such as Intel's vPro AMT, is a hardware based technology that provides a runtime environment separate and independent from that of the main general purpose operating system. AMT typically uses a secondary processor on the motherboard of a computer to enable “out of band” interaction with the main operating system. In addition to running independently of the general purpose operating system, the AMT environment can be communicated with independently. It would be desirable to leverage the AMT environment to address the computer security shortcomings discussed above.